Crumar Mojo Review - Gig Tested

[BernMeister]

...Maybe it's because the organist engages all 4 limbs (meatbolic euphoria) instead of just the head, like some of the more cerebral Jazz Pianists...

Don't mean to hijack this very worthy thread...and correct me if I'm misreading but, is this an insult to pianists? If so, do we really need to read this here?

[Mitch Towne]

Thanks, Robert! I like the Mojo so much that I didn't want to just bang out a quick review. I wanted to cover as much about the instrument as possible for people like me who want as much information as they can get about new instruments.

 

 

[LX88]

Hey Mitch - I appreciate the information! You covered a lot of things that are important to me and that I am curious about.

 

The release of this instrument represents a serious step in the clonewheel world, so your info is valued as we continue to learn what Crumar has to offer.

 

When I first got the Numa and was trying to tell people about it, I was met with a lot of mean spiritedness ( pics or it didn't happen etc.etc.). I am still enjoying the Numa- for me the leslie sim and the slightly backed off upper octave are actually preferable. I like the Numa sim because it is very un colored.

 

Most people have agreed that the VB3 can be adjusted to sound very good and that is what makes the new generation of clones so interesting.

 

The bar has been raised in this decade certainly. Keep us posted.

[Dana.]

When I first got the Numa and was trying to tell people about it, I was met with a lot of mean spiritedness ( pics or it didn't happen etc.etc.).

"Pics or it didn't happen" is not mean spirited.

[Mitch Towne]

By the way, D-Bon, I'd post a couple pics but I am not sure how the forum works for that. Do they have to be uploaded to a site?

[Joe Muscara]

Mitch - in order to post pics here, they have to be accessible as the direct image files, like .jpg. Then, you wrap them in tags.

 

If you go to the Full Reply Screen there is a tool you can click on the toolbar that will do it for you.

[Tonysounds]

Electro 3 - about 5 seconds

Yamaha S90ES - about 11 seconds

 

Hammond Organ: 23 seconds.

[Tonysounds]

meatbolic ... cerebral

 

 

Congratulations on using "Meatbolic" and "cerebral" in the same post.

[mate stubb]

By the way, D-Bon, I'd post a couple pics but I am not sure how the forum works for that. Do they have to be uploaded to a site?

 

Mitch, I can host the pics for you if you email them to me.

 

mate dot stubb atsign gmail dot com

[RedKey]

Hammond Organ: 23 seconds.

This.

But then again, I've never had to restart one in the middle of a song.

[mate stubb]

Hammond Organ: 23 seconds.

This.

But then again, I've never had to restart one in the middle of a song.

 

Try playing one getting power from a cheap gas generator.

 

No on second thought, don't!

[LX88]

As far as pics or it didn't happen.... I don't see it as friendly, no. And yes I have seen examples of bullying and rankism on this forum, which occasionally exists at junior high school like levels.

 

As far as the Numa top octave, I have been glad that I can dig into it instead of back off from it. So many clones have been too shrill in that regard causing people to buy spendy bouitique preamps etc. etc. And I have enjoyed the chorus vibrato from the Numa certainly. Ditto the leslie sim and the overdrive.The only thing I wished from it was some beefier EQ ing and percussion volume adjustment which was solved long ago by adding an EQ into my amp chain..

 

I write this in response to Mitch's initial post , not to try to tout the Numa. I was very glad that during the past year that SOMETHING has been available in the U.S. with the Key B engine, and at an affordable price, lightweight etc. etc.

 

But the Mojo looks to be an extremely good value. Once again I am wondering how the tech support is going to be on this. The buy direct price is tempting. From the look of it, the difference between the Key B/ Hamicord and the Mojo/ Numa is basically the difference in the cost of the rocker switches.

 

 

 

But back to the rankism issues...it is interesting to see how much clout some people think they have on this list. I am not here to stroke anybody's ego certainly.

 

But I have no beef with Mitch's report, which was well written and very informative.

[Dana.]

As far as pics or it didn't happen.... I don't see it as friendly, no.

"Pics or it didn't happen" translates to "Post some photos so we can see for ourselves." There's no hidden nastiness.

[LX88]

Photos seem kind of hard for me to post on this forum. Apparently I am not the only one that thinks this.... I think Mitch also was going to forward to someone something to be posted.

 

I actually would like to keep this discussion to facts about the Mojo and maybe a bit about how to get the best out of it etc..

 

Back to the Mojo - I think Mitch is saying that he also got some new Motion Sound speakers to use with it, correct?

 

I am seeing that speaker selection with can make a huge difference as can amplification etc.

[LyonsT]

LX88 I believe Mitch uses a Motion Sound KP-500SN.

[Joe Muscara]

In order to post pics here you need to host them somewhere that can be linked. Some sites only allow you to go to their pages, and don't allow direct links to the images themselves.

 

For one option, Flickr lets you host for free and can even give you the code to embed pics here.

 

But yes, I'd like to see more talk about the MOJO!

[Mitch Towne]

As far as support goes, I have never had interaction with a manufacturer like I have had with Guido. We had no prior relationship before I bought the Mojo. He has answered any questions immediately and thoroughly. It's a great thing to be able to get questions answered by the guy who knows more than anyone else about how it because he invented it!

 

Guitar players have long been able to patronize boutique shops for their gear and benefit from a more personal experience. Keyboard players haven't. Crumar is more like a boutique keyboard company. They are a tiny company dedicated to a small number of products that target a niche consumer base of very picky musicians. I get the impression that Guido is as rabid about the Hammond sound as we are. I doubt he developed he VB3 to capture a market share. I bet he did it because he wasn't happy with what other companies were offering.

 

Oddly enough, I have felt more connected to Crumar, a tiny Italian company, than I did to Korg for the brief time I had a Kronos. There are countless pages on the Korg forums about an obvious and easily replicable triggering problem with their RH3 keybeds. What has Korg said about it? Nothing. Totally silent. You can feel the desperation that some of the forum posters have. They feel like they have been sold a lemon. I know for a fact that if I had a problem with the Mojo that Guido would do whatever he could to fix it.

 

When it came to the Numa and changing tonewheel sets, the documentation was so scarce that I think I was one of the only people who knew how to do it. Studiologic support was pretty nonexistent.

 

I have only had the Mojo for a week, but it has been an impressive week, not only because of the instrument but because of the support as well.

[mate stubb]

A few years ago, when we first started hearing about VB-3, I tried it and had horrible latency problems with my setup. I posted about that and was pretty negative.

 

Guido contacted me privately and helped me work thru my issues. I've been a believer ever since!

[Joe P]

As far as pics or it didn't happen.... I don't see it as friendly, no.

"Pics or it didn't happen" translates to "Post some photos so we can see for ourselves." There's no hidden nastiness.

 

LX88 - yes, this is true. It's more about us wanting to see pictures of GEAR than it is about us not believing it happened. It's like a school-yard dare, but mostly we just want to see pictures because we like looking at pictures of gear.

 

Regards,

Joe

[LyonsT]

I don't know if these will satisfy for the time being

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/114126357140158493814/CrumarMOJO#

 

Edit: I think its the prototype the 'on the fly' editing knobs are horizontal unlike on Crumars website they appear vertical.

[Joe Muscara]

We saw that prototype when it was first announced or so.

 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2316021/1

[LyonsT]

Aye that's the one, I found those today, I think that's the only major external change some font changes for UPPER and LOWER text.

[LX88]

As far as Numa support goes it is somewhat true that the people at American Music and Sound don't know much about it. I think that is because they are just distributors, not the inventor. However, I have been in touch with them and they have given me their pledge of support beyond the 2 year parts and labor period they offer, so I have been pretty impressed with that. And so far I have no issues with the Numa.

 

But that is good feedback Mitch, that you have been in touch with Guido. Seriously ... the price and features of the Mojo make it a seriously tempting option.

 

I have had a few questions regarding leslie switching and expression pedal options, but I figure that most of this info will come out over time so I am not pushing it.

 

It would be nice to hear what Guido has to say too. I am impressed that he brought this to full fruition, particularly since he has some pretty tough competition in Italy with the Key B. It would be interesting to know how this developed.

 

What is interesting to me is that they didn't put it out until it was pretty much right. How many times have we had to upgrade from other clones in the past? The audio examples I have heard sound very good.

 

 

[Joe Muscara]

Well, VB3 has been around a bit, and they did the Hamichord before this.

 

For some of Guido's insights into what they did, see his posts in the appropriate threads ('Crazy Italians' and 'New vid from Crumar'). I don't think he answers everything you've asked, but there's some info there.

 

Posts from Guido

[HammondDave]

Hammond Organ: 23 seconds.

This.

But then again, I've never had to restart one in the middle of a song.

 

I have, and it's not a pretty sight!

[Jim Alfredson]

Starting a B3 that's already been on takes about 8 seconds. It takes longer if it hasn't been on for awhile and the tubes need to "warm up".

 

But if you need to restart a B3 in the middle of a gig, you got big problems!

[Mitch Towne]

Ok, I now feel like I wrote my review too soon. As I said in my review, I hadn't had a chance to try some things yet, the most intriguing of these being the alternate Leslie simulation. The Mojo sends its normal Leslie simulation in stereo like every other Leslie simulation. However, the Mojo is also capable of splitting the L/R output to create what Crumar calls vertical simulation ("V.S. Technology" in the manual). The left channel sends a simulation of the horn and the right channel sends a simulation of the rotor. (Note: The manual has it wrong. It says the opposite of how the simulation functions. Chalk it up to the translation.) These simulations are applied with an 800hz internal crossover to simulate the crossover in a Leslie. Ideally, one would stack a couple speakers on top of each other to get the maximum simulation effect. The simulation is then in mono, but it is designed to simulate what it would sound like sitting in front of the Leslie.

 

So...does it?

 

To sum it up in one word: Oh, my God.

 

Seriously, I have not heard a Leslie simulation like this. The separation of the highs and lows adds so much space to the sound, you wonder why someone hasn't done it before. (I guess Motion Sound has with it's Pro-3 line, but those had issues of their own when it came to sound.) As I pried myself away from the Mojo after hooking it up and playing it for an hour, I thought of all the things you could say about this feature: "Game changer," "Game on," "Game over," etc. But to be pithy would be a disservice (even though I was pithy above...I couldn't resist). I ran the Mojo with the highs going into my Motion Sound KP-500sn and the lows into a QSC K12 (a slammin' rig, to be sure). The Leslie sim when run the normal way into the Motion Sound is fantastic. But when split, it really shows how good the Mojo is as a clone. Everything just breathes more. It is by FAR the closest thing to a real Leslie I have ever heard and it really brings out the differences in the tonewheel sets. Bear in mind, this review is coming from a guy who only buys Ford Explorers because the 147 fits perfectly in them. In other words, I have been gigging regularly with a real Leslie. I am used to the real thing. This sim is incredible. Nothing comes close.

 

An additional commentary about the tonewheel sets: I have done some further exploration of the different sets and they each really do have their own character. As I said in my original review, Guido told me that the tonewheel sets are based on actual readings he took of various organs. He said that when these readings are fed into the software, every aspect of the VB3 tonewheel simulation is effected. You can really hear this. The default VB3HE2 Standard is a very aggressive organ. The 1956 B3 is mellower. The 1962 B3 has a very well rounded tone. The 1965 B3 sounds rather hollow with more crosstalk present. The 1959 C3 has a great jazz tone and the 1965 C3 has a very aggressive 1' drawbar. I am jsut picking differing aspects at random, but you probably get the point. The differences are not vast (with a few exceptions) but they are definitely different.

 

Now...here's the interesting thing that I think proves that what Guido says is correct. When you are looking at the Graphical User Interface (GUI) with a monitor, you can see all the adjustable parameters (Leakage, Xtalk, Percussion volume, etc.). As you change the tonewheel sets, these parameters don't change. What this tells me is that the differences in the tonewheel sets isn't a matter of someone spending time designing the sounds of the different sets or just some different EQ on each one. Everything is the same except the base tonewheel readings that Guido took and fed into the software. This is truly like having 20 different organs to choose from! They all have the basic characteristics of a Hammond tonewheel organ, but those little differences between organs is truly present in this software. Who knows what different issues each one of the organs that Guido measured had? Whatever they were, they were captured and translated into the software. It is nothing short of astounding.

 

So, as I said earlier, I wrote my review too soon. I didn't think I could get more impressed with this instrument, but I have.

[AnotherScott]

It sounds like this would be perfect for me if it were built into the 73-key single-manual 22-pound Numa Organ package. (Well, perfect if they added aftertouch!)

 

 

[LX88]

I am glad that Guido concentrated his efforts on the organ rather than adding a bunch of extrasounds.

 

Oh wait ...extrasounds is not a real word. I am sure that the spelling cop will be along shortly.

 

I don't suppose there is any chance that the Mojo will make an appearance at NAMM ( ??? ).

[solpincus]

I did NOT mean to insult pianists : besides being primarily a Pianist myself, I , at times happen to BE one of those 'cerebral pianists' (at least in my less inspired moments) I DO notice, however, that by & large, organists (whether or not they also play Piano ) seem to bring a certain fervor to both the tonewheel, as well as the emerging clones coming out, that I don't see in players of other instruments (with the exception of maybe drummers.) I certainly would not include ALL pianists in this observation, so i apologize for incorrectly making such a claim. I certainly would not include pianists of the towering stature of a Oscar Peterson, or a Tatum. or any of the unsung heroes out there who play away in obscurity, devoid of the recognition due tho them. If anything, the unsung heroes of the piano probably are the REAL heroes. That goes also for the obscure Organists out there who don't get the recognition due to them. I'm sure there are both pianists, organists, (or any instrument) on this forum (& others) who are every bit as good as the 'Stars' we listen to. sorry if i offended you (or other pianists )